Raj Bhog – SFC #1

Raj bhog is  very popular  sweet in India made with homemade chenna / paneer stuffed with nuts , which is cooked in saffron flavored  sugar syrup . Though I have tried this with stuffing before and my H doesn’t like the stuffing much but he likes the only the raj bhog with out any stuffing so this time I made it without stuffing . I made them same as we make for Rasgulla as traditionally they don’t add any flour to make rajbhog so I made them with only chenna/ paneer so that they turn spongy and soft. 

I have joined this new  group “Sweet fantasy club” whose brain child is +Preeti Garg  ,a wonderful blogger author of “ Simply tadka” . This is our first challenge an indian authentic sweet dish which one of my fav . This month preeti has chosen two wonderful indian and international   sweet and dessert , thanks preeti for this wonderful challenge . So coming to the challenge the first dish is an authentic North indian sweet dish “Raj bhog”  which nothing but a large size cheese balls dipped in saffron flavored sugar syrup. 
Lets move on to the recipe of this spongy rajbhog

 Ingredients
For Chenna/ Paneer

Whole Milk – 4 cups or 1 litre 
Lemon juice – 3 tbsp + water 1/4 cup ( dilute them )

For Sugar syrup

Sugar – 3 cups
Water – 5 cups

Other Ingredients

Lemon yellow color – few drops
Saffron strands few
Rose essence –  few drops

Method

To make Paneer / chenna

• In a saucepan boil the milk and simmer it to low.
• Add the lemon and water mixture and stir .
• It will curdle and the whey will get separated  .
• If you see the milk haven’t curdled well and you haven’t got the required paneer then add more few tbsps of lemon juice .
• After the milk have curdled completely and the whey have separated , this may take only few minutes. Take a strainer and spread the muslin cloth over it strain the milk .
• Reserve the whey and use it instead of lemon juice while making paneer for the next time.
• Strain the chenna/ paneer and run cold water over it once so that the lemon sourness goes off from the paneer.
• Tie the muslin cloth and keep a heavy vessel or any heavy thingy on it and wait till all the water drains of. But still a tiny little moisture should be in so that it is easy to knead the chenna.
•  Now transfer the chenna/ paneer to a plate an start kneading for 10 – 15 mins  or till they form a very smooth dough.
• Add lemon yellow color to the chenna and knead them again till all the dough is dyed 
• Divide the  chenna / panner into equal parts and roll them into lemon size balls and keep it aside.

To make Sugar syrup

• In a sauce pan measure and put sugar and water.
• Turn on the  flame and let the boil.
• After all the sugar dissolves  add saffron strands .

How to proceed

• After the sugar syrup starts to boil add the paneer balls .
• Cover the sauce pan with a lid and simmer the flame .
• Now cook the paneer balls for 15 – 20 mins covered in a sauce pan.
• turn of the flame and let them stand cover for 10 more mins.
• After which when you open the lid you will find the panner balls would have doubled in size.

•  Spongy raj bhog is ready chill them in fridge . They taste better the second day as all the sugar syrup is well absorbed by the paneer balls till then.

Tips 

• I haven’t stuffed them with nuts mixer but you can stuff them with pistachios or mixed nuts powdered which is mixed in a small quantity chenna / panner and then stuffed in the paneer balls.

• You can use even vinegar to curdle the milk about 2 -3 tbsp.
• If you chill the rajbhog let them sit for 1/2 – 1 hour in room temperature before serving.
• The paneer should not turn too hard so be carefully while curdling the milk , once you find all the milk have curdled switch of the flame . If you cook them after they curdle the paneer may turn hard and you rajbhog might turn rubbery . so the key to make a spongy rajbhog or rasgulla lies in how well you make you paneer or chenna.
• If the chenna is too very soft then you can try adding few tsps of maida but the same results can’t be expected  . Making with only panner is the key to make it really spongy .